Patient ‘sorry’ for socialising

A woman in Chiang Mai who tested positive for Covid-19 after visiting several entertainment venues there took to Facebook yesterday to offer a public apology. The 25-year-old woman tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday and was quarantined.

On Facebook she wrote that before being confirmed as infected, she had no symptoms, adding that she liked having a night out and socialising with her friends.

After contracting the virus, she said she gave officials from the Department of Disease Control (DDC) a timeline of where she went and what she did during the 14 days before.

“I apologise to my friends, everybody, as well as owners of businesses that I visited because I really did not know..I did not have any symptoms,” she wrote.

She said she did not feel well on Monday so she had a checkup at a hospital. Initially, doctors said she had dengue fever. She was also tested for flu and Covid-19.

On Monday, she stayed home all day until 4.50pm when the DDC informed her over the phone that she had tested positive for the coronavirus.

A team of medical personnel then arrived and took her to Nakornping Hospital in Chiang Mai for treatment, she wrote, adding that doctors have not yet determined where she contracted the virus.

Since the test, she has alerted her friends who came into close contact with her and told them to get a test themselves.

“I gave photos in my mobile phone and chat history to the DDC. I told them every place I visited. Anyone who wants more information can contact the DDC. After learning I tested positive, I spent hours discussing my timeline with the DDC,” she wrote on Facebook.

She is now in isolation in a negative pressure room at the hospital.

The Chiang Mai communicable disease committee has ordered an early end to the annual Red Cross and Winter Fair, which was due to close on Jan 10, after the Covid-19 case involving the woman was recorded. The fair opened last Friday.

Chiang Mai governor Charoenrit Sanguansat said yesterday the 25-yearold woman was the latest infection and the province’s 50th case.

She visited at least five entertainment venues recently, including on New Year’s Eve, and many shopping malls in Chiang Mai. It was still not clear where she was infected, Mr Charoenrit said.

The committee agreed that the five entertainment outlets must close for three days and their staff self-isolate for 14 days, to help stop the virus spreading.